Encouraging and Rewarding Classroom Innovation Andrew Dorsey Eric - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Encouraging and Rewarding Classroom Innovation Andrew Dorsey Eric Salahub President Instructional Coach Front Range Community Front Range Community College, CO College, CO Thanks for joining us! We will begin promptly at 2pm ET. • Use the “questions” area to submit questions as they arise. This webinar will be archived at http://NROCnetwork.org . • Need help accessing? Please email: memberservices@theNROCproject.org.

Incen%vizing Innova%ve Teaching Strategies Andrew Dorsey, President Eric Salahub, Philosophy Faculty/Instruc<onal Coach

Ge5ng Our Bearings…

• Service area covers 8382.54 mi 2 • Popula<on 2,173,554

30,460 30,460 = Students at Front Range Community College Boulder County Online Students Campus 7,624 3,736 Westminster Larimer Campus Campus 8,061 8,505

Condi<ons for Innova<on • The Right People • Time • Culture • Leadership • Funding (at least to some extent) • Necessity (some<mes)

Two Turning Points for FRCC • Assessment Crisis – 2006-2007 • Development of a First Strategic Plan - 2010

Assessment Crisis Circa 2006-07 • Accredita<on visit looming in 2008 • No visible progress on assessing student learning • Strong faculty resistance to a proposed assessment model

Assessment Crisis and Culture Change • The solu<on: Join the Higher Learning Commission Assessment Academy • A small group of faculty began a movement to change the culture and a\tude of their peers about assessment • Sparked a slow but broader increase in conversa<on about teaching and learning

Strategic Plan Circa 2010 • First serious plan in almost 20 years • Started with numerous focus groups • Consistent themes included frustra<on among faculty with lack of ability to innovate

Responding to the Concerns • The new strategic plan, Vision 2015, included a specific goal to encourage innova<on • Partly an a`empt to signal to leaders at all levels the importance of making room for new ideas • In other words, driving culture change • Also important to drive funding

Deciding on Ac%ons for the Strategic Plan • Lots of evidence we had the right faculty, as evidenced by ideas and desire to be crea<ve • We had some of the right culture, but not enough • We were lacking in the other areas: • Clear indica<on of support from the top • Buy-in from middle management • Financial support

Specific Strategies • President’s Innova<on Grants • Instruc<onal Coaches • Assessment Mentors • New Learning Communi<es

Specific Strategies • Expanded Professional Development Funding • Increased Instruc<onal Technology Support Staff • Recogni<on • Addi<onal Faculty • Addi<onal Deans

Strategy: President’s Innova%on Grants • Up to $20,000 for two years • Open to anyone in the college • Had to be a new prac<ce or idea • Completely outside the normal budget • Selected by a commi`ee of staff and faculty • Ini<al total funding of $150,000 per year

President’s Innova%on Grants • In its figh year • Over 50 proposals funded, mostly involving teaching and student support • Over 150 staff have par<cipated • Tremendous posi<ve feedback • Inspired several long term changes

Sample Projects Funded by Innova%on Grants • Engaged Online Teaching • Flipped Intro Biology Classroom • Reconstruc<ng the Past • Story Catchers

Strategy: Instruc%onal Coaches • Four veteran faculty on 80% reassignment • Three-year term • Selected for teaching skill and passion • A`end coaching ins<tute and mentored by outgoing coach

Instruc%onal Coaches • One-to-One assistance • Classroom visits • Reflec<ve Prac<ce Groups • Workshops • Only Forma<ve, never Summa<ve!

Example • Eric’s work as an instruc<onal coach and an innova<on grant recipient • Also a key member of the assessment team and an assessment mentor

Eric Salahub: Problems, Online Instruc<onal Coach Experiments, and Innova<ve Solu<ons Best Instruc(onal Prac<ces: Ac<ve Coaching Workshops Learning and Training Online Learning Community

Can you help me, Eric? I think I’ve designed myself out of my own online course … .

What do you love about teaching? When do you feel most like a teacher? 1) Watching my students improve, learn, and demonstrate skills. 2) Connec<ng with students. 3) Capturing the teachable moment.

Tradi<onal Flipped What is online “instructor-directed Hybrid teaching?” Online 3 hrs. 3 hrs. Online 6-9 hrs. Independent Instructor Independent Student Work Work

Crea<ng Online Teachable Moments we must design If we want to facilitate assignments and learning by offering ac(vi(es that provide meaningful forma<ve us the opportunity to feedback, do so .

Use guided thinking The quiz tool can be used for ac-vi-es to things other assess student than quizzes. learning in process. Encourages Allows for quick student <me- feedback to be on-task and offered makes individually or ‘homework’ to the whole meaningful. class.

Screencas(ng and Teachable Moments Consider screencas<ng as a way to offer whole-class feedback so each student can assess their understanding in the context of the rest of the class. I use screencast-o-ma-c.com and youtube.com for instruc<onal screencasts.

Quizzing to Mastery Sets Up Teachable Moments • Use auto-graded quizzes with customized feedback. Consider • Ques<on banks incen(ves! • Quiz to mastery • Self-assessment in the context of the whole class

Digital Images For Immediate Assessments Online classes are ogen paperless environments, at least where submission of student work is concerned. But, any smartphone can create a digital image of a paper document and students can easily upload those images into their online course. This works great for hybrid and face-to-face classes too.

Our Best Class Ever!! • Two classes fully integrated • Two teachers working as partners • One D2L site • One syllabus • One set of assignments Leads to: • Increased student success! • Classmates and teachers who care about and trust each other • Great experiences for teachers Kerri Mitchell: ENG Faculty

My Online Students Never Hear Me Lecture Yet… They Learn and Accomplish More

How can lessons from online learning help all teachers and students move from the “ knowledge- transmission ” way of doing things toward the “ ac(ve learning ” paradigm? • For hybrid classes… • For flipped classes… • For tradi<onal, web- supplemented classes…

Paradigm ShiP Knowledge Transmission Ac(ve Learning Teachers Learning Facilitators Students Learners Content (facts) Outcomes / Competencies and Skills Focus on Courses, Prefixes Focus on Programs and Student and FTE Success

Tradi<onal What should Learning “instructor-directed Facilita(on / teaching?” be Ac(ve Learning? 3 hrs. 3 hrs. Online 6-9 hrs. Independent Instructor Independent Student Work Work

Front Range Community College Ac<ve Learning Ins<tute Spring 2017

Example Innova%on Grant: Flipped Biology • Over 900 students in 38 sec<ons of General Biology I over two semesters • About half blindly registered into flipped sec<ons • 17 faculty and instructors: • 6 taught only flipped sec<ons • 10 taught normally • 1 taught one of each

Flipped Biology • Before class, students worked through a SogChalk module and a publisher-provided homework assignment • During class, they took a quiz and then did ac<vi<es designed to rehearse, recall, link to prior knowledge, explain, and elaborate

Students from flipped sec<ons performed significantly be`er on a common comprehensive final exam

Students from flipped sec<ons had significantly higher pass rates in BIO112 and higher pass rates in BIO201 and BIO204 From Flipped Sections 100 From Non-flipped Sections Subsequent Biology Courses (%) 90 80 Students Passing in * 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 BIO112 BIO204 BIO201 Biology Course

Flipped Biology • Project con<nues two years ager funding has ended • Spreading to more sec<ons and other science courses

Reconstruc%ng the Past • Joint Project of Women’s History, Women’s Sexuality, and either Jewelry Making or Advanced Drawing • Interviews of local women • First year from a memory care facility • Then La<na women, veterans, and Jewish women • Working on a figh cycle • Art student produced a personalized art piece depic<ng the subject’s life journey • History students produced a wri`en narra<ve • Displayed at local art gallery and permanently on campus

Reconstruc%ng the Past

Reconstruc%ng the Past